In this first open air school I’ve ever visited
there are desks and the students are quiet and diligent,
placed in rows that are almost perfect.
But the silence is not a mistake/fluke,
or passivity, or ingratitude towards the teacher.
Whatever they had to learn they have learnt,
and now they are silent so that we can learn,
we who go around and search in these modern classrooms
without a clue, unless our ancestors tell us,
to how we found ourselves in the best possible school.

some of the ex-alumni have a desk
that is larger than that of their classmates
but the majority managed to notice the difference in size in time
and made a normal desk / like everybody else’s,
just large enough for a person’s body to fit into
and some space to jot down something.

At Arlington they teach you everything at once
and then you won’t need to ask any more.